We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to David Hooton for his service to our Board as Chair over the past two years. As the Chair, he has helped the association achieve many things, including the transition to a company limited by guarantee.
We are pleased to inform members that David will continue to serve on the Board as a nominee of corporate member, Field Solutions. We are very fortunate to have him remain on the Board!
Privacy Act Review | Attorney General’s Department | 10 January 2021
The AGD is consulting on proposals for reform and questions on the Privacy Act 1988 Discussion Paper. This will focus on aspects including on the scope and application of the Privacy Act, whether a statutory tort should be introduced for privacy invasions, the effectiveness of enforcement powers and mechanisms under the Privacy Act and the feasibility of an independent certification scheme to monitor compliance.
Superfast Broadband Access Service Access (SBAS) Determination Inquiry Discussion Paper | ACCC | 10 December 2021
The ACCC is in the process of confirming a final access determination for SBAS, following which a provider needs to ensure access to a declared service on the request of an access seeker. The inquiry will consult on price and non-price terms and conditions of access to the service, whether the Regional Broadband Levy should be absorbed by SBAS providers or passed onto RSPs and users and whether network providers should disclose network service quality and reliability indicators to RSPs. It also inquires about exemptions from the access determination applying to small scale operators (with less than 12,000 end users) and competition-based exemptions.
Consumer Data Right – Telecommunications Draft Designation Instrument | Treasury | 13 December 2021
The Treasury is seeking feedback on the Draft Designation, which outlines the datasets and data holders to be covered by the CDR.
Telecommunications Service Provider (Customer Identity Verification) (CIV) Determination 2021 | ACMA | 15 December
The CIV Determination imposes carriage service providers (CSPs) to introduce two-factor authentication for all customer interactions at high-risk of fraud. Although Communications Alliance released a Code covering similar ground earlier, this Determination is more specific on definitions (of high-risk interaction) and the process for identity verification. It also requires CSPs to collect information to show their compliance.
NBN SIO Record Keeping Rules | ACCC
IAA responded to the ACCC’s Proposed Changes to the NBN Services in Operation Record Keeping and Reporting Rules (NBN SIO RKR) Consultation Paper. We conveyed our support for the publishing of high-level CVC overage and utilisation data, but opposed the publication of data disaggregated by access seekers as this should be considered confidential information. We also supported reporting metrics include NBN Co performance against service levels and performance objectives.
Basic Online Safety Expectations (BOSE) | Department of Communications
In collaboration with 10 associations, IAA made a submission to the Basic Online Safety Expectations. Here, we raised our concerns about the extensive and vague nature of the scope of services discussed, which in its current form could incorporate website, app or communication services accessible to Australian users. We also raised the potential impact BOSE could have on over-cautious censorship and surveillance.
Policy News
The Critical Infrastructure Bill 2020 passed both House of Representatives and the Senate last week. The legislation expands the number of sectors classified as critical infrastructure, including the communications and data storage and processing sector. It also enforces mandatory reporting requirements and provides Home Affairs with the ability to issue information gathering, intervention and action direction requests.
In August, IAA responded to the Treasury’s Consumer Data Rights (CDR) Sectoral Assessment for telecommunications, where we argued the CDR could add to existing compliance requirements for ISPs and inhibit competition within the sector. Last week, the Treasury released their Sectoral Assessment wherein they recommend the telco sector be designated for the CDR. Now, the Treasury is finalising the classes of information and who is required to share it as a data holder to be covered by the CDR. They have recommended that carriers and CSPs be designated as data holders who should provide access to generic and publicly available product data, product data that relates to particular products used by consumers and basic consumers and account data.
Have you heard about NetThing? We are excited to announce that we will be facilitating a round table focusing on Internet as an Essential Service and how this classification would affect the rules and regulation for broadband Internet services.
We plan to explore what classifying the Internet as an essential service would entail and its broader implications for digital inclusion, minimum service level requirements and digital infrastructure investment. We will moderate a discussion incorporating the perspectives of consumers, civil society, regulators and the various players right across the internet industry.
Our participants include representatives of the ACCC, Communications Alliance, Legal Aid NSW, Infrastructure Australia, Arnotts as well as consumers and service providers from right across the spectrum.
This event should be both insightful and incredibly useful if the rules for service change!
Register now if you would like to attend our round table or any other events NetThing has to offer.
This year’s Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Scams Awareness Network’s Scams Awareness Week will be held 8 – 12 November 2021 and our association is proud to be a campaign partner again this year.
Throughout the week, we will provide several resources from the ACCC that you can use to protect yourself and others from falling victim to scams. We encourage all our ISP members to read through the content and share it with your customers.
The theme for this year is let’s talk scams, to encourage all Australians to talk about scams with family, friends, and colleagues to raise awareness, educate, and empower consumers to protect themselves.
ACCC’s Scamwatch reported that Australians lost $176.1 million to scams last year, up by 23.1 per cent from 2019. Statistics like these provide a good reminder that scams are ongoing, very active, and are becoming more sophisticated.
If you would like any further information about current scams or would like to see scam statistics within Australia, please refer to the ACCC website.
Our Perth team were fortunate enough to attend a Hard Hat Tour through Equinix’s PE3 site on Tuesday 19 October. Still under construction, Equinix’s Global Solutions Architect – Phil – took them through the building to see everything from the rooftop right down to the loading dock!
The first phase of the site has an estimated cost of A$76.6 million and is targeted to open in Q4 2021. When completed, this new data centre will provide 1,650 cabinets and a colocation space of more than 10,600 square metres.
Due to the proximity to Southeast Asia, two subsea cable links – Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) and the Indigo Cable – terminate directly inside the Equinix Perth campus.
Thank you, team Equinix, for showing us through your new data centre, we look forward to seeing it all finished!
One of the biggest developments over the past month was our official registration as a company limited by guarantee with ASIC. The change from the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), was necessary as it reflects our national growth as an association.
From the initial consultation with members to the Special General Meeting (SGM), this process required much effort from the Board, staff and members. The SGM held Wednesday 28 July 2021 saw the required majority of votes in favour of the transition.
We remain proud of our Western Australia roots and hope to continue the good works of the Association in the form of both advocacy and services.
As the main lobby in the QV1 Building received some TLC on Saturday 16 October, power to the main distribution board that feeds our Point of Presence was scheduled to be turned off. Thanks to our fantastic member – Ciphertel – organising electricians and a generator to mitigate the extended outage, we stayed primarily online with a minor four-minute outage.
We would like to thank Ciphertel for all their efforts to keep all of us with services in QV1 connected.
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